1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus having rotating brushes disposed within a cleaning chamber for cleaning dentures. The apparatus is placed in a stream of falling water and captures the energy therein to rotate the brushes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dentures must periodically be removed from a user's mouth and cleaned. Since dentures are placed in the mouth, careful attention to hygiene is a necessity, and accordingly, cleaning must be thorough and complete. At the same time, cleaning dentures can become a time consuming and odious chore if performed by hand. In recognition of this situation, the prior art has proposed brushing apparatus for cleaning dentures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,256, issued to Oscar Gauthier on Nov. 27, 1973, discloses a brushing device having axially aligned, opposed brushes enclosed within a cleaning chamber. Dentures are placed within this chamber and cleaned when the brushes rotate. The brushes are electrically powered by a motor transmitting power through two paths to the upper and lower brushes.
The dentures are constrained against rotation when the brushes rotate by interference provided by a template. The dentures fit loosely within the template, so that a reasonable variety of sizes and shapes of dentures will be accommodated by one template. Nonetheless, Gauthier contemplates the necessity of providing a number of templates to assure that any one particular set of dentures will actually be successfully constrained against rotation.
Unlike the above apparatus, the present invention is dependent upon neither electricity for power nor a plurality of templates to hold the dentures in position for cleaning.
A denture cleaning chamber is featured in a brush device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,323, issued to Kevin C. Digby on Jan. 15, 1991. This device entraps dentures in the lower portion of a housing provided with stationary, upwardly projecting brush bristles. To entrap the dentures, the receptacle of the cleaning chamber has a truncated circular shape when viewed in plan. The chord truncating the circle is provided by an upright wall interfering with rotation of the dentures.
A cover closes the housing, and a brush is rotatably journaled within this cover. The upper brush is rotated by turning a handle projecting above the cover.
It should be noted that the bottom brush provided by the upwardly projecting bristles do not rotate relative to the dentures. Therefore, to enjoy the benefits of brushing motion, the dentures would have to be turned upside down and cleaned in a second operation.
By contrast, the present invention actively brushes both sides of the dentures in a single operation. No manual effort is required to rotate the brushes of the present inventive cleaning apparatus.
Fluid powered rotary brushes are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,412,400, issued to Joseph Gasser on Apr. 11, 1922, 1,657,880, issued to Lionel Fitz H. Carew on Jan. 31, 1928, 3,909,867, issued to Gunnar Hogsell on Oct. 7, 1975, and 4,783,871, issued to Joseph Rich, Jr. on Nov. 15, 1988. While such devices are no doubt suitable for their purposes, they cannot hold dentures in a fixed position and bring their respective brushes to bear effectively thereon. They also lack opposed bristles for surrounding an object to be cleaned in the manner that dentures should be cleaned. Unlike these devices, the present invention provides structure for securing the dentures in place, and has a brush arrangement for cleaning both sides of the dentures simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,383, issued to Donald G. Costar on May 14, 1991, discloses a brush configured to cooperate with dentures for cleaning. The brush must be wielded by hand, and the dentures must be secured in place by hand. The apparatus of the present invention performs both of these functions automatically.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.